


Rewritten Fate

by Agnidivya



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dysfunctional Relationships, Gen, More Characters added as story progresses, Tsundere Rin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-03-13 15:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13573935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agnidivya/pseuds/Agnidivya
Summary: In another world, another universe, there is one thing that Tohsaka Rin cannot do.In this world, this universe, there is one thing that Tohsaka Rin will do no matter the cost.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got into the fate series when I learned that the premise was a battle royale for super-powered heroes of myth. And for the most part it delivered. I liked the protagonists as well. Shirou served as the perfect decon-recon of the shonen archetype and Rin and Illya were fresh takes on popular anime-girl archetypes. However, the forced romance in the series made me cringe. The only romance that feels authentic was the one between Shirou and Rin, and even that had its own set of issues.  
> Then came Heaven’s Feel, and since I’m a sucker for dysfunctional sibling relationships in fiction, I thought, “Why not extend it?” There are loads of fics out there about the sisters switching places. I’m not sure anyone tried this premise.  
> Enjoy!  
> Disclaimer: You will need to be aware of the lore, terminologies, thaumaturgy and background of the characters in the Fate series to make sense of what I’m writing here. Also, canon-typical violence, canon-divergence (the title hints at it) and gratuitous Shinji-bashing. No sex though…

She had finally put it together, a fragment of the Second. Since the hard part of getting the equations right was done, then what was left was the easy part of executing it, right?

The Multiverse’s answer to that was a big, resounding WRONG!

Kaleidoscope, the Operation of Parallel Worlds, was as bizarre a concept to Magecraft as the other three Magics. The stupid old man had laughed at her and claimed it closer to Sci-Fi.

Extensive research left behind by her forefathers had been able to help her pierce a hole in the time-space boundaries of the Multiverse.

Inclusion of the Theory of Relativity (she was the school’s honour student for a reason, despite her dislike for science and technology) into the calculations had allowed her to drill a tunnel from one hole in the Multiverse to another.

In essence, using the gravity and centrifugal force of the Earth at her precise location to calculate the mana need for the drilling and tunnelling process was easy. Using the same parameters as markers to curve the tunnel back to her universe was easier. Using the mana from the ley line running under her house to execute the process was, by far, the easiest part.

And apparently, so was not factoring in any unforeseen circumstances.

Rin ducked and pushed herself into a roll as a scythe-like arm slashed over her head. In less than a second, she was on her feet and leaping to her left to dodge another swipe by one of those glowy, translucent monsters that came barrelling towards her.

She eyed the crystalline ring of the portal with both dismay and exasperation, even as her leg snapped out to kick the flat face of one of the legless, scythe-armed creatures.

Why hadn’t she sent a hat or a rock through the tunnel first? Why had she decided to walk through it?

The tunnel had collapsed within a minute of her entering it. And she understood why in the worst way possible.

The world in this universe evolved drastically different from her own. There was no organic life here, only those made from ether. The mana-rich atmosphere had put so much pressure on her tunnel that it had disintegrated into nothing. And while the mana filled her circuits to the brim and allowed her to perform feats that were normally beyond the realm of mages, it also made sure that her od was a rare, tasty indulgence to the mana-eating creatures living there.

She pushed her reinforced body to leap over a swarm that attempted to corral her. One of the apertures of her tunnel had already collapsed. She needed to get to the other one before it closed, because she was sure as hell that she would not have the time to open another one with everything on this bloody planet trying to eat her. Damn, she was lucky that the atmosphere was even breathable!

Something significantly heavy collided into her side. She was sent crashing into a solid granite boulder with enough force to shatter it. She barely had time to push her palms beneath her before her instincts were screaming at her. Forcing her mind out of its daze, she scrambled forward, barely avoiding the scythe-arm that stabbed the spot where she had been.

Her gaze fell on the collapsing aperture. Ignoring everything else, she focused only on the crystalline ring. Forcing her feet under her, she shot forward in a dead sprint. She pulled a handful of quartz and obsidian from her pocket and hurled them behind her. She didn’t dare look back even as the monsters flocked to the tasty treats like pigeons to bread crumbs.

_I hate pigeons!_

She then ran past a dazed monster, leapt over one that tried to blindside her from the right and punched her way through a third one, dissipating its ether body in the process.

The aperture was only a meter wide now. There was a swarm of more glowy monsters behind her. She had no more crystals in stock (Of course, she left her gemstones back home! They weren’t exactly cheap enough to be used all willy-nilly!).

A knife-like appendage swiped at her back. She nearly stumbled as pain shot up her spine. But she ignored it through sheer will. She only needed to cover five meters now.

The aperture was half-a-meter wide.

All the translucent monsters converged on her at once.

Forcing prana into her legs, she made one final leap.

*****

Taiga sighed as the phone kept ringing and ringing. She felt her annoyance grow. She knew it was irrational to not like the girl. She was polite and kind and helped Kiritsugu-san with taking care of things neither Shirou nor Taiga could. Shirou seemed to like her well enough.

However, Taiga still could not come to care for the girl enough.

_Maybe it’s because he spends more time with her than with you._

She shook her head and dialled the number again.

*****

Rin gazed lovingly at the dusty ceiling of her workshop. She was panting and sweating and her body ached, while her stomach roiled.

She had made it back. The aperture had closed behind her, Gaia absorbing and converting whatever materials she brought back as its own.

She indulged in the euphoria she was feeling.

She didn’t care that the gash on her back was still bleeding.

She didn’t care that there was a risk of cross-contamination from both the foreign mana and matter in her body.

She pushed aside her thoughts that noted how using the mana-rich ley line as a marker had connected her passage to a world with non-Euclidean power sources.

She certainly ignored the elation of knowing that the 20 carat princess-cut diamond she had used to etch the spell into the world had survived and retained at least half the mana she had stored in it.

She did not even think of the fragment of the Second she had used more or less successfully.

All that mattered was that she was alive.

And she never loved her dusty basement as much as she did at that moment.

And then her house phone started ringing.

*****

‘You do realise the process is going to cause her immense pain, do you not?’

Kiritsugu looked at the man standing at the window with hands clasped behind his back. The sunlight from the window cast an ominous halo around the silhouette.

‘She is not of your blood. There is a 90% chance of rejection, and that could kill her’, the priest continued.

It never failed to surprise the magus-killer that the man who had been his nemesis at a time, the one that came the closest to killing him, was standing her having a more-or-less cordial conversation with him.

‘Oh, do shut up!’ he retorted and felt a wave of annoyance when the priest did not respond. ‘You knew when she came to me. You knew when she demanded the same thing of me. You know she’s been working under me as much as you. And you know that this is the only logical progression of all of that.’

Kotomine turned to smile at him. It was not a nice smile.

‘I did’, he stated almost-fondly, ‘But she is my ward.’

‘Why does it matter?’ Kiritsugu asked blandly, ‘You love seeing her suffer, don’t you?’

‘I do’, he repeated with the same almost-affection, ‘But, as I said before, she is my ward.’

It never failed to surprise him either that they shared the same snobby, outspoken apprentice.

Kiritsugu sighed in exasperation. No wonder the brat had such a short fuse. Anyone dealing with this psycho is bound to end up in an asylum somewhere. He regretted not giving the girl her due credit for her resilient spirit.

‘Believe it or not, I’m still a magus. I still want my legacy passed on, as all Magi are wont to do. But since I’m so unorthodox, it’s only right I entrust it to the best talent rather than my own talentless heirs.’ He hoped it would amuse the man enough. The Emiya legacy was tainted (All Magi legacies are tainted. After all, all Magi exist to defy the natural world.), and he knew that if he didn’t do anything, it would end up ruining Shirou. He would rather it pass on to someone who could handle it, than someone who’s as traumatised as his son.

The look in the priest’s eyes told him that he wasn’t fooling anyone. However, the priest seemed willing to go along with it. ‘Very well, I will begin preparations for your last rites.’

Kiritsugu did not as much as move as Kotomine walked out. He didn’t as much as breathe when he nodded at Shirou and Taiga. He didn’t as much as think until the man was out of his house.

_It’s up to you now. I’m sorry for leaving you to clean up my mess._

He watched the girl with long black hair that curled at the ends enter his room, the girl who gave him three more years to live. There were words he wished he could say, but knew he never would.

****

_There was a knock on his door. Kiritsugu blinked and squinted at the clock. Huh, it wasn’t time for Shirou to be home yet._

_Then the bell in the ceiling began ringing._

_He felt his breath catch in his throat._

_No, he had put that life behind him. He did not want to-_

_There was another knock on his door. This time it was a lot more enunciated._

_Kiritsugu knew he could not pull out the Contender now. Not with how weak he had grown._

_There was more knocking on the door. The air had grown stifling._

_He resigned himself to his demise. It seemed that there really was no end to grudges in this life._

_He shuffled to the door and saw the distinctly female silhouette through the screen. He sighed, he knew the Einzbern would come to collect on his debt someday. He just hoped he would be gone by then and Shirou, without any inheritance from him, would be kept firmly out of the blood bath. But when did life ever go as he wished._

_With yet another sigh, he pulled the door open and braced himself._

_And blinked._

_There was no Einzbern homunculus assassin on the other side. (In hindsight, an assassin would have offed him without him knowing about it. That’s how he would have done it anyway.)_

_Instead, there was a very normal-looking girl._

_He blinked again._

_A normal-looking **Magus** girl._

_With long black hair that curled at the ends and was tied up in twin-tails with black ribbons._

_With eyes that were neither blue nor green, but somewhere firmly in the middle._

_With an expression of haughty pride and forlorn maturity that should never be seen on the face of a twelve-year-old._

_‘I need to ask you something’, the daughter of Tohsaka said, straight to the point. ‘I need you to teach me.’_

_Kiritsugu blinked yet again._

_‘I can’t.’_

_The Tohsaka did not reply, let alone throw a tantrum. Instead, she remained silent as if waiting to hear whatever explanation he had to give her._

_He blinked again for the umpteenth time._

_‘I can’t’, he said a little more forcefully, while squinting to look at her better. ‘We are from completely different bloodlines. I doubt we have **any** Magecraft in common. Yours is not compatible with mine. Mine is not compatible with yours.’_

_‘Is that all?’ the girl asked with an eyebrow raised condescendingly. And damnit! He forgot he was not dealing with a normal twelve-year-old girl._

_‘I know all of that’, she continued, ‘Do you think I’m stupid enough to waste time after knowing all that?’_

You’re still standing here _, he bit back the thought._

_‘No one can help me with my Magecraft, not even my formal teacher’, she explained slowly, ‘However, there is one set of skills you have in common with him, and I’m going to ask you the same thing I did him.’_

_She then looked at him with sharp eyes and spoke with a sharper tongue._

_‘I want you to teach me how to kill a Magus.’_

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there you have it. The AU I’m creating. This is going to be a practise for me to stay within the bounds of an established world. This is so that I won’t go off the rails with rule-bending in my original works.  
> Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The die is cast. The Servants are summoned.
> 
> The pieces move to take their positions on the board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should have come out last week, but I was sick.  
> Before all that, I need you guys to understand that I loved the idea of the Legends of the Past beating the ever loving shit out of each other! And though I know that Fate/Stay Night was an eroge game, I ignored it for the sake of the story. What I didn’t sign on for was boobs and bums in every other scene, so don’t expect a lot of those slice-of-life sections. Fate/Zero is my standard, and I’m going to try my best to maintain it.  
> Enjoy!

_The inferno finally died down, leaving behind scorched and scarred earth._

_‘That is the most inefficient use of Magecraft I have ever seen’, the man announced after a moment of silence._

_‘That fire was beyond stoppable’, she spat back, ‘I’d like to see you try a more devastating spell!’_

_‘It ultimately won’t matter if your spell hits nothing, Tohsaka’, Kiritsugu stated, ‘You’re stuck in your ways. If you really want to kill your opponent, then you’ll have to be not just stronger, but smarter too.’ He then looked at her with dying eyes. ‘You can’t always have the higher ground. So you need to get there by whatever means necessary.’_

_‘You want me to cheat?’ she roared._

_‘I want you to fight’, he replied calmly, ‘This isn’t a friendly duel. It’s a fight to the death. And if you want to win, then you have to live, while the one who opposes you has to die. That’s the way it is.’_

_Rin seethed quietly. She simply couldn’t find a retort because, at the end of the day, that was exactly what she wanted._

_‘That doesn’t mean I simply resort to tactics employed only by those who have no pride. I may have deviated from the path of a Magi, but I still have a reason to use my Magecraft. That is why I’m here, asking you to show me how to use my Magecraft to get what I want.’_

_He looked at blankly. She felt as if he was looking right through her. ‘You say you have deviated from the path of a Magi, but all I’m seeing is a naïve little girl, who simply refuses to let go of her safety blanket. You say you have a task you can’t complete by being a Magi, but you still refuse to throw away your pride and change.’_

_He knew how to hurt with words, she realised, because he was hurt by them as well._

_‘I don’t care what your opinion is’, she finally stated, completely subdued, ‘My task is important to me.’_

_‘But not as important as your pride’, he stated simply._

_She froze where she stood. She didn’t know how long passed in silence, how many seconds, minutes. She just stood frozen while the wind blew, the birds chirped and the world moved on._

_When she looked up, Kiritsugu was gone, and she was left feeling hollow once again._

*****

She trudged her way to the garden behind her mansion. The sun shone brightly down on her and the wind ruffled her long her. But her eyes burned with the remnants of sleep.

She looked down at the array etched into the ground where the ley line passed. Sighing, she got to work planting her crystals in specific points throughout the array of concentric circles and runes. She arranged them weaker in the outermost ring to the strongest in the innermost.

She stood up and checked her work again to make sure nothing was out of place. She then pulled out a long metal arm attached to a wooden pole just outside the array. She proceeded to adjust the quartz lens hooked onto the metal arm and adjusted it to focus the light of the sun onto the array.

Once the focused light began burning the ground in the centre of the array, she stepped back and cut a small line on her forefinger. She held out her hand and let blood drip down to the etched lines one drop at a time.

Tohsaka Rin then began her personal prayer.

*****

‘Sempai? Wake-up sempai?’

He groaned and turned around.

‘Sempai. You’ll be late.’

Groaning again, he managed to push himself up. Stifling a yawn, he blinked his crusted eyes and looked around him.

Huh? He’d fallen asleep in his workshop again…

‘Sempai?’

He turned to look at the girl who addressed him.

Her plum hair glowed a soft lavender in the morning sun and her smile was gentle, fond and exasperated as always.

‘G’morning, Sakura…’ he managed to mumble while he stretched to relieve the ache in his back.

‘You’re lucky Tohsaka-sempai isn’t here’, Sakura chided him gently.

And thank the Gods for their mercy. He’d be awarded a lecture with a few painful bops to the head if Tohsaka ever found out he had pulled an all-nighter again.

‘Sorry, Sakura’, he managed to say a little more coherently, ‘I didn’t mean to fall asleep here. Guess, I was more tired than I thought.’

‘It’s alright, Sempai’, Sakura replied, ‘But you should get ready soon, just in case. Even if Tohsaka-sempai can’t visit as often anymore, Fuji—‘

‘SSSSHHHHHIIIIIIIRRRRROOOOOUUUUUU!’

The clarion cry echoed throughout his residence. Shirou took a moment to gulp nervously before scrambling to his feet.

Seriously, it wasn’t fair how the gender ratio of the house was skewed against him, and how the fairer sex was clearly the stronger and bossier sex when it involved him.

*****

She walked past a gaggle of giggling girls, a toddler throwing a tantrum at his mother and an old man making little progress in his journey to the bathroom.

It took her a few minutes to walk our through the glass doors. Ignoring the people blatantly staring at her, she straightened her blazer, combed down her short red hair with her gloved fingers, hefted her suitcase and turned right to go hail a taxi.

All the while, her prized treasure, the earing of her hero, lay hidden in the inner pocket of her blazer.

*****

‘We’re here’, she cheered as she skipped on ahead.

‘Lady Illya, please wait for us’, Sella called behind her as she pulled a suitcase behind her. Beside, Leysritt hefted three large suitcases and a bag with ease.

Illya did not turn back as she pranced inside. The old castle was huge and made of ancient stone brought here from Germany. Its walls had old magic running through its veins, creating a natural defence for the lords and ladies of the castle.

The little homunculus spun around in circles, taking in every inch of space she could see. The stone pillars that stood like silent sentinels, the grand staircase that led to the floors above, the huge glass windows that illuminated the entire lobby, it all reminded of the time she had spent with mama and papa so long ago.

‘Come on, slow pokes’, she giggled as she ran up the stairs. Sella shrieked in annoyance while Leys followed her with an equally enthusiastic smile on her face.

*****

‘Leave them be, Kotomine.’

‘… I beg your pardon’, Kirei replied and blinked in bemusement.

‘Let the dog be’, the Golden Archer repeated, ‘Whatever plan you have, discard it.’

Kirei blinked yet again. ‘May I ask why?’

Gilgamesh let out a long suffering shy. ‘Humanity has fallen, stagnated in its own domesticity’, he began as he took a sip of his wine, ‘However, there are still remnants of greatness left, rare as they are.’ He then looked over the hill with something akin to interest. ‘That girl of yours, I see her struggling to reach her goals, never stopping, even when she realised how pointless it is. She even went ahead and defied her legacy to reach those goals.’

Kirei kind of understood where he was going with it. Rin had managed to surprise and impress him.

‘It’s futile, but I still can’t help but wonder what she is willing to do, to sacrifice, for what she wants’, the King of Heroes continued. ‘It’s still to be seen if she is one of those worthy to be ruled.’ He then huffed and took another sip of his wine. ‘Nevertheless, it would still be very entertaining to watch.’

And the false priest couldn’t help but agree. He wondered how delightful it would be to see the despair on her face when she realises the tragedy she had written herself into.

*****

The darkness parted like a sea. Creatures of nightmare slithered about in the cold, humid room. They covered the walls, the floor, the stairs, and dragged along something with them as they buried themselves in the ley line. What little light there was, reflected off the smooth surface of an ancient mirror.

In the darkness, the shadow of a man grinned.

*****

The tattered old book was placed in the middle of the summoning circle. Surrounding the circle were five glass chambers, each holding the appropriate virgin sacrifice that he had collected on his way here.

He looked up at the clock on the wall. He still had ten hours before the next mana surge. It’s best to make sure everything was in order by then. He signalled to one of his assistants to begin the transformation sequence.

Blinding light filled the room. The virgin, female bodies in the chambers began to liquefy. The remnants then began to fuse with the ether and passed on to the pipes. They then dripped out and solidified on the dais beside him. The resulting crystal was an inch long and shimmered with kaleidoscopic light.

He smirked, the result was better than he expected. Looks the females were pure after all.

*****

‘Hey, Tohsaka, wait!’

He watched as the girl stopped in her tracks and looked curiously behind her. Everyone else in the corridor stopped as well and looked at him with baited breath. He noticed the whispers starting among them and was sure he would end up the latest hot topic of gossip. But he has been hailing down Tohsaka for five years now, and it was a true miracle that people were still surprised. He wasn’t that much of a loser, was he?

‘What is it, Emiya-kun?’ she asked him, the model of a prim and proper lady. Oh, how she had everyone fooled.

‘You didn’t come by my home for a while now’, he spoke before he could think, ‘Sakura and I were worried something happened.’

The whispers started up again and he wanted to sink into the floor. In hindsight, this wasn’t something he should be speaking about in public. But Tohsaka seemed to have been avoiding him lately.

Then he noticed the small, fond smile she gave him, and suddenly everything was worth it.

‘I’m sorry, Emiya-kun’, she stated politely, ‘I just had a lot of work to catch up with and settle. I won’t be able to visit for a while longer. Say hi to Matou-chan for me.’ And with that, she turned around and walked away.

The whispers began anew yet again. Only this time, he heard the words ‘threesome’ and ‘harem’ thrown about. He was also pretty sure he heard Issei scream indignantly somewhere in the distance.

He could only wish the earth swallowed him whole.

*****

The night sky was dotted with star, easily visible due to the lack of artificial light so deep in the forest. Illya looked up in wonder, remembering the days when papa told her about the Big Dipper and Orion and Sagittarius and Scorpio. She remembered when he told her how the North Star guided people home.

She wondered why the star never guided her papa home. But then she remembered that he had found another boy. A boy she was going to meet soon.

She felt the warmth beside her. She did not need anyone now. She had Berserker.

A sharp snap of electricity ran through her body and Illya almost fell to her knees. Panting, she pulled herself up with white-knuckled grips on the window frame. She then smirked.

‘Eh, looks like it’s starting.’

*****

Rin pushed aside a chest and with a few books on top. She had discarded the clock as well, choosing instead to draw mana from the surge in the ley line. If she were to summon the strongest Servant she could, she would need all the resources at hand.

She closed her eyes and checked her surroundings. ‘Wavelength, ideal.’

She then began to place a string of quartz crystals in the points of the Star of David drawn in the summoning circle. Where most Magi would use silver for engraving the circle, her family used crystals. Adding her own only increased the potency of the ritual.

She felt the surge of mana in the ley line and stepped into the centre of the circle. She held out five jade magatama stones in her hand. Idealy, the divinity of the earth embodied in the crystals should call forth a demi-god Heroic Spirit.

The mana surged again. And she raised her output to match that of the ley line.

The gems in her hand began to melt and drip down to the circle on the floor.

The circle glowed a gentle turquoise as an unnatural breeze blew through the workshop.

‘Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let my great master Schweinorg be the ancestor.’

The circle beneath her pulsed as the power surged in sync with her invocation.

*****

Bazett held out her fist as the Tiwaz rune engraved on her glove glowed a brilliant blue.

The circle beneath her feet pulsed with power.

‘Raise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Close the four cardinal gates. Come out from the crown. Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom.’

She continued her chant, even as she felt the pull against her very essence. Bracing herself, she allowed her od to flow through her circuits, causing the breeze to turn into a gale.

*****

He ignored the screams of his sacrifices, even as they clawed against the walls of their chamber as their bodies dissolved into nothing. He had come too far, invested too much to give up now.

‘Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time.’

He would summon the Golden Dragon of Colchis and win this war!

****

The worms were crawling under her skin and around her feet. Yet, they stayed away from the summoning circle that glowed a brilliant violet.

She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to fight. But grandfather could not be disobeyed.

She saw the reflection of her dead eyes in the mirror and continued her incantation.

‘I shall declare here. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.’

In the balcony above, her brother grinned with greed she pitied him for possessing.

*****

Rin braced against the squall that had picked up in her workshop. She felt the pull on her very being and the fire burning under her skin.

‘If you will submit to this will and this reason, then answer!’

The gems in her hand were completed melted now. They had fused perfectly with the summoning circle, along with the bits of quartz she had placed on the Star of David.

*****

Bazett brought up her other gloved hand with the Sowilo rune, using it to fortify her summoning.

‘An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!’

*****

The materials had been used up. Now he needed to fuel the ritual with his own mana.

‘From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint!’

*****

Sakura didn’t want to be here. But she didn’t have a choice.

A small part of her hoped she got a Servant who could help her, who could make her life a little bit easier.

‘Guardian of Scales!’

The room filled with a brilliant explosion of light before it died down along with the wind. And as the dust settled, her eyes fell on a tall woman in black, with long lilac hair that reached her ankles.

*****

Atrum smirked at the hooded, feminine figure standing before him. The figure of perhaps the most powerful witch in history.

*****

Bazett stared in awe at the blue-clad man standing before her. Her hero had arrived.

*****

Rin gasped at the figure of a slender, white-haired, white-skinned man that stood in the circle before her. He was dressed in black, with golden armour and a red fluffy, feathery cape trailing behind him. And he was radiating brilliance like nothing she had ever seen before.

She fought the urge to smirk and fell to her knees as the mana depletion caught up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it.  
> Canon divergence.  
> Now, there are many reasons this guy was summoned instead of Archer. For one, he would be what Rin needed for her mission. For another, she used an unintended catalyst.  
> Did you find the clue I left?


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drawing first blood!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really sorry, but updates are going to be irregular. Between juggling a full time job and a two-year-old, I’ve got my hands quite full.  
> Read and enjoy!

_‘Hmm’, he hummed thoughtlessly as he examined the power port. It was dented in the side, making it impossible for the connector to fit. Bad enough that the TV was an ancient CRT type, but repeated abuse had rendered it to a little more than scrap metal. There were only so many quick fixes he could perform before resorting to Magecraft._

_Considering the condition of the phosphor screen, magnetic coils and all the ports, the TV was better off in a junkyard. Unfortunately, the Student Council had used up all its funds for one silly festival or the other and could not afford another TV. So, he really had no choice but to use his ‘secret’ technique._

_Closing his eyes, he reached into himself. He felt the cool trickle like ice water through his veins._

_He then imagined a canal system for the water within his body._

_Like a closed circuit for electricity…_

_But one he built from scratch…_

_He could see the paths trace themselves. He could feel the water-like energy trickle down slowly through the paths he dug out…_

_He could…_

_‘WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!’_

_Whatever mana he had gathered dissipated, violently. He yelped and fell back on his ass, hitting his head on a table on the way down. It felt like the cool water was replaced by molten lava. He groaned and moaned as pain shot up his back and straight through his head._

_Whimpering pathetically, he managed to open his eyes slightly (When had he closed them?) to see a blurry figure of red and black. It looked familiar and seemed almost concerned._

_And then everything was black._

*****

He shot up when he felt the sharp sting in his left hand. Yelping, he clutched his hand to his chest. Looking closer, he found red welts on the back of his hand.

_What happened?_

He was still in his room, still in his futon. Why did his hand hurt?

The sun was barely over the horizon when he looked out through the window. The sky was still a deep blue that was slowly brightening with soft pinks and sharp oranges.

He sighed and crawled out of his futon. Just another day in the life of Emiya Shirou.

*****

‘Did you two fight?’

Shirou nearly dropped the bulb he was trying to replace. ‘What?’ he asked blankly.

‘You aren’t hanging around Tohsaka anymore’, Issei explained, ‘About time too.’

Shirou sighed and shook his head. He would never understand the feud between his two good friends. They were just people who couldn’t get along, no matter how much they tried. He was pretty sure they only got along when Shinji was involved, if only to humiliate the latter.

‘I don’t know why you don’t like her, I won’t even try to understand’, the redhead said, ‘But just because we aren’t talking doesn’t mean we’re fighting.’ He then screwed on the bulb in its socket. ‘Tohsaka is just someone who needs space sometimes, you know?’

‘Hmm’, Issei replied noncommittally.

The school’s spare handyman continued his work in silence. However, that silence was broken a few minutes later.

‘Be careful, Emiya’, Issei told him, ‘I know I’m weak when it comes to sensing the supernatural, but I’ve had a bad feeling for a while now. It almost feels like something is coming.’

The redhead paused in his work. He had noticed the strangeness in the atmosphere too. It was not the first time he wondered if Tohsaka’s job as the overseer had caused her to distance herself to resolve this issue, whatever it was.

‘Well, let’s get back to lunch’, he stated as he wiped his hands on a rag.

‘I keep forcing you to fix things’, Issei bowed low, ‘I’m sorry, Emiya.’

‘Hey, don’t worry about it’, his friend chuckled, ‘I like fixing things.’

Shirou then felt a jolt in his chest, almost as if something had passed by…

‘Emiya?’ Issei asked, and Shirou had to remember that his friend could sense things as well, no matter how faintly.

‘It’s nothing’, he replied and his eyes fell on the figure of his former blue-haired friend bragging to a few girls. There was a tenseness in Shinji’s bearing that he seemed desperate to relieve. He wondered if he had managed to annoy Tohsaka again.

*****

Shirou would never understand why Tohsaka chose to hang around the archery club. However, he wasn’t complaining. That girl was far more effective against Shinji than Shirou could ever be, especially when Sakura was involved.

It was funny really, the two girls were never close. In fact, they seemed almost awkward and shy around each other, whenever they met. It was especially so after Sakura had first come two years ago when he had broken his arm and had discovered that Tohsaka had been visiting his adoptive father far before that. Yet, whenever Shinji raised his voice against his little sister, Tohsaka was always there around the corner to reprimand and humiliate him.

It was cute how the older girl tried to stay ‘aloof’ and the younger blushed and turned away. He wondered if Sakura had a crush on the older girl. Not like he could blame the plum-haired girl. A lot of people had a crush on Tohsaka, regardless of gender. Tohsaka, on the other hand, was a complete goof with her affections.

Shirou suddenly stepped back causing the vaulting pole to miss him by an inch and strike the ground at his feet.

He blinked at it once, twice and turned to his left.

‘Give up, Matou!’ a girl with short black hair around his age yelled at him. ‘Tohsaka hasn’t been here for three days now!’

‘Huh?’ he replied intelligently.

‘Can’t take a no?’ she yelled again. The two other girls accompanying her sighed.

‘May we take a look at your student ID, please?’ the straw-haired girl with glasses asked.

Shrugging, he showed it to them.

‘Huh, you’re Tohsaka’s friend, Emiya, right?’ the other caramel-haired girl asked.

The dark haired girl let out a wail and sunk to the floor. ‘Oh, no! Tohsaka’s gonna have my hide!’

‘Don’t mind the barbarian’, the girl with glasses said, ‘Matou has been going around speaking ill of our friend. We wanted to clear it up with him. Sorry for the interruption.’ She then bowed apologetically.

He couldn’t help but smile. ‘That’s ok’, he told them, ‘Thank you for taking care of my friend.’

‘She’s our friend too, you know’, the dark haired girl yelled and was promptly bopped on the head.

‘If you aren’t in any of the clubs, then it is best you head home’, the girl with glasses continued, ‘Considering everything that happened…’

‘What happened?’ he asked curiously.

‘Didn’t you know?’ the caramel-haired girl said, ‘A family was found murdered in their home. The only survivor was the youngest child.’

‘That and the gas leak accidents…’, the straw-haired girl continued. ‘Students were advised to return home as soon as possible.’

‘Thanks for the heads up’, he replied with a smile, ‘But I still need to finish up at the dojo.’

‘Very well then’, the glasses girl replied primly, ‘Be careful on your way home.’

It was only after they left that he realised he hadn’t asked them their names. Tohsaka was going to have his hide for being a savage (her words not his).

*****

The circle stopped glowing when she cut off the mana-flow for her scan. It was a passive sigil, one that did not give any feedback to its caster. But then again, if it was so hard to remove, then it didn’t need to give any feedback.

‘These are runes I am not familiar with’, she muttered.

 _They are from before the Age of Man, though not from my land,_ her Archer replied.

‘You know the nature of the boundary field created by this array, don’t you?’ Rin asked, ‘A blood fort meant to immediately convert organic matter into mana.’ She frowned as she looked out at the school. ‘Someone wants to use the students as fuel.’

 _A master, who probably wants to supplement their Servant’s mana supply with raw spiritual energy,_ Archer speculated, _The strength of the Servant won’t matter when their mana pool is large._

‘And what do you think of this method?’ she asked. She knew this was a foolish question, especially considering her Servant’s legend. But the one thing Kiritsugu had drilled into her head was that she needed to be absolutely sure of her facts and not run off on assumptions, even if the assumptions are obvious.

 _I do not need such a crude source,_ Archer replied with a hint of indignation in his voice, _I have a good supply from my Master._

Rin did not reply, instead allowed Archer to feel her relief and pride through their bond.

‘Well, that’s certainly a waste’, a voice called out behind her.

Rin spun around, startled. She looked up at the man clad in blue, standing atop the roof of the staircase room, and the red head woman beside him.

‘Lancer!’ the woman hissed, ‘I thought you were a genius at guerrilla tactics!’

‘Hey’, Lancer replied indignantly, ‘Slinking in the shadows is the job of a mage. Our kind are summoned to take a more head-on approach.’ Then he paused to scratch his head with the tip of his red spear. ‘Except maybe Caster and Assassin. But then again, they have practically zero combat skills!’ he grinned.

Rin was already looking at a way to get off the roof. Being fenced in and having lost the high ground, her Archer was handed a handicap, no matter his skill. The most advantageous position was in open ground, where Lancer won’t be able to hide from Archer’s arrows or ambush them.

‘Tohsaka Rin, I presume?’ the redhead asked in accented Japanese.

‘Yes’, Rin replied simply.

‘Apprentice of the Magus Killer’, the woman continued, ‘Regardless of the Holy Grail war, you are still a threat that I, as an enforcer, must deal with.’

It’s a good thing Kiritsugu had sat her down and explained to her the danger of being associated with the Magus Killer, especially considering the enemies he had made over his lifetime. However, Rin hadn’t changed her mind then, and won’t change her mind now.

‘Come and get me!’ she challenged boldly, while simultaneously reinforcing her entire body. Without giving the enforcer a chance, she sprinted across the roof. Lancer gave chase, and with his speed he caught up to her in a fraction of a second. However, one flaming arrow had him leaping back and a second had him rushing to protect his Master.

Rin took the chance to leap high over the tall wire-fence of the roof. With a mid-air spin, she righted herself and threw down a shining quartz crystal. The crystal shattered, releasing a concentrated blast of air that cushioned her fall.

She hit the ground running, not minding the fact that Lancer had tried to strike her yet again, only to be deflected by her Archer’s golden bow.

She heard the thundering steps of the enforcer giving chase and activated her Magic Crest.

Time to see if her five years of training paid off.

*****

He had just finished cleaning up the floors of the dojo. The lights had burned out and had required replacing, but since the ceiling was so high, it had required some manoeuvring. He was putting away the mops and ladders when he heard it.

The clash of strange metals, something that rung sturdier than steel ever could.

Curious, he made to follow that sound.

It was dark out, the stars had come up, though you could only see the brightest ones amidst the light pollution. The school was dark, only the outside illuminated by the lights around the campus. Beyond that, the woods remained silent.

Yet, the sound of clashes continued and a pit began to form in his stomach.

He remembered the horrible news of the past few days, Issei’s warning and Tohsaka’s absence. He wondered if whatever was happening was supernatural or purely human in nature.

Either way, he would probably need to start looking into it. He was going to be the Hero of Justice one day, wasn’t he?

He made it all the way to the sports grounds when he saw it, the clash of gold and red. There were two of them, one dressed in a blue bodysuit with a wicket red spear and the other dressed in a black and gold body suit with a massive, fluffy red cape trailing behind him.

Shirou saw the two men move at supernatural speeds. The one in black jumped back to keep his distance, but the blue one wouldn’t let him. The caped one managed to get on the wire fence, standing perfectly balanced. The blue one was a blur as he tried to cross the distance to reach the caped one. Tried, being the operating word.

The caped one had a golden bow in his hand and was firing arrows he had summoned from absolutely nowhere. And each arrow was aimed perfectly at the man in blue, even though the latter was moving at dizzying speeds. And each arrow struck the ground hard enough to leave smoking craters behind.

But the blue one still dodged arrows, even though he was forced backward and backward, until he was standing against the building’s wall. The blue one then changed his stance with his red spear. He turned to his right, face forward and spear levelled and pointed at his opponent. Shirou recognized the mana build up with a flare and…

The caped one perked up like a wild animal being alerted to danger and he moved. He was a blur as he crossed the distance to the other side of the grounds, away from Shirou, where two other figures could be seen. One of which was clad in red and moved very familiarly.

‘Gae bolg…’ he heard a masculine voice yell.

‘Fragarach…’ he heard a feminine voice call out.

And suddenly the caped one was standing in front of the figure in red, a familiar figure in red.

There was a flash of silver streak that raced and a gleam of red brilliance that curved and arched, both striking the two standing together. A flash of gold and both the caped one and the red figure were on their knees, but unharmed.

But then he recognised the figure in red, rather he was able to speak the name of the person he had known was there from the start.

‘Tohsaka!’ he called out in worry, because Mage or not, overseer or not, she was in danger.

At that moment, four sets of eyes turned to him at once. Tohsaka’s aqua eyes slowly began to fill with absolute terror.

*****

Yes, she had trained under the late Magus killer, but that didn’t make her assassin.

Rin ducked and rolled as a flaming fist shot past above her with enough force to have taken off her head.

She did not even want to start a fight tonight, she had only wanted to slow down the idiot who had dared to place her school in a blood fort. But damn her if she wasn’t going to retaliate in kind.

Shooting up to her feet, Rin back-pedaled fast enough to miss the fist that came punching downward. The fist struck the ground and left a crater in it, the shockwave of the impact nearly throwing her off balance. But years of training in Baji Quan paid off as she soon regained her balance.

Her reinforced limbs glowed a bright turquoise as she leapt back again and brought up her left arm, hand pointed straight at her opponent.

The redheaded enforcer spun to the side, barely dodging the ball of black witchcraft that had shot toward her. She brought up her gloved hand, but was caught off-guard by the wind current that struck her knees.

Rin smirked as she turned and sprinted further away from where the Servants fought. This way, Archer would not have to worry about her standing in the way while he unleashed his power on the Lancer.

Instincts born from dealing with mana-eating creatures in a Non-Euclidean dimension forced her to skid to a stop. Her opponent had tried to drop kick her from the side, but had instead fallen to the ground at her feet.

Without another thought, Rin brought up hand again and aimed another overloaded Gandr at the redhead. But the enforcer had rolled away, climbed to her feet and jumped back by at least ten meters, while the black energy hit the ground, leaving yet another crater behind.

Rin switched to fire lesser Gandr’s at the woman forcing her back by several more meters. As a Magus focusing on several disciplines, she knew that the enforcer’s primary Magecraft, Rune Magic, had few ranged applications, while Rin had many.

Without a second’s hesitation, Rin pulled out a gleaming red ruby from her pocket and caught it in her right hand. She then held her left hand forward, palm outward and magic crest humming beneath her skin.

‘ _Brennen Sie all der Schöpfung zu Asche:_ _Rote Blume_ ’

A five petaled flower made of scarlet light bloomed out from her palm. It then turned into a blazing inferno that shot out at her opponent at stupefying speeds.

Simultaneously, a metal ball floated in the air behind the enforcer. The ball began to glow as sparks danced off it. A blade emerged off the surface facing Rin and the redhead punched the ball. ‘Fragarach!’, she yelled, and the glove burned off her hand just as the fire had shot out from Rin’s palm.

Rin’s instincts screamed at her, and she startled as her attack was stopped before it could take effect. Then her vision blacked out for a second before she recognized the mana drain. When she caught her breath, she opened her eyes to see Archer’s red cape fluttering a few inches from her face.

Forcing air into her lungs, she lifted her head to peer over her shoulder. She saw the metal ball that the enforcer had punched at her lying at Archer’s feet. She also saw Lancer looking at them with the most indignant and incredulous expression she had seen on anyone’s face.

‘How did you…’ the enforcer trailed off.

‘You have good instincts’, Lancer suddenly grinned. ‘Firing arrows at that speed and with such precision in spite of my protection, acting to defend even before my attack was materialised and in spite of the reversal of causality’ then he pointed his red spear at the Archer, ‘and that armor that negates any attack from outside, even one that strikes before the blade makes contact…’ Lancer’s grin widened, ‘It’s nice to meet ya, Heroic Spirit Karna!’

 _Shit!_ Rin cursed.

‘A spear that is guaranteed to strike by reversing causality and speed that can confuse even my clairvoyance’, Archer replied, ‘It’s nice to meet you as well, Heroic Spirit Cú Chulainn!’

 _Double shit!_ Rin cursed again.

‘Tohsaka!’

All four turned to see the redheaded idiot of Fuyuki, aka Emiya Shirou, make his presence known to a pair of disputing mages.

 _Triple fucking shit on a pogo stick from hell!_ Rin cursed yet again.

One thing was for certain, Rin had gotten very creative with insults over the past five years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it.  
> For those confused few, Karna realised something was coming and moved even before Cú activated Gae Bolg. So he was standing in front of Rin with his armor at full power before either NPs were even activated. So Lancer’s spear struck him and Fragarach hit him, but the damaged was reduced to 10% effect at the cost of mana drain for both him and Rin.  
> Please review!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final summon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was completed faster than I expected.  
> All scenes in Italics are flashbacks. When they happen are up to readers interpretation.  
> Read and enjoy!
> 
> Also, oops, I used the wrong chapter summary!

_‘What were you thinking?’_

_Her voice was soft and low, her expression stern. Shirou had seen her get annoyed, yell and sometimes throw a tantrum. But he had never seen her truly angry before._

_It was scary._

_‘I was just practising… Magecraft…’ his voice trailed off as the frown on her face steadily deepened._

_‘And how exactly were you going about it?’ she asked him. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward slightly in her seiza position._

_He wanted to sink into his futon and never return._

_‘How we always do it’, he replied softly, while turning his head away. He fidgeted with the sheet covering him, ‘By converting nerves to magic circuits temporarily…’_

_Tohsaka looked at him for a long time. Shirou wondered where his father was when he needed him._

_Oh, yeah! He was taking care of some business in Germany._

_‘Emiya-kun, do you know what a magic circuit is?’ she asked. He opened his mouth to answer but she did not let him. ‘It’s an organ you are born with, just like every other organ in your body. It a pseudo-nerve that channels mana for Magecraft.’_

_Shirou curbed his impulse to reply. Tohsaka always had a very important point to make when she meandered in conversation._

_‘Now, trying to create a new magic circuit is the same as trying to stitch a new arm on your body and hoping it works’, Tohsaka continued, ‘It’s not only dangerous, but also stupid and completely lacking in common sense.’_

_Then she gave him a look that threatened to peel the skin off his flesh and bones._

_‘And to convert your spinal cord of all things… Are you suicidal or just plain stupid?’ she asked him bluntly._

_Shirou felt a hint of indignation despite his shame. ‘Hey, that’s how Kiritsugu taught me.’_

_Tohsaka was silent for a long-time. He fidgeted under the unreadable look she was giving him._

_‘We are going to correct this’, she declared, ‘You are going to be my apprentice and we are going to make a mage out of you yet.’_

_He frowned. ‘Aren’t you Kiritsugu’s apprentice?’_

_‘Do you see me learning Magecraft from him?’ she shot back. He had no reply for that._

_Two days later, Kiritsugu arrived at his home from the airport. ‘I’m home’, he announced as he opened the front door._

_Emiya Kiritsugu, feared Magus Killer, scourge of the Magi world, was greeted into his own home with a shoe to his face._

*****

‘Shirou, run!’ Tohsaka screamed at him. He saw her try to get to her feet and promptly collapse. The man in the black suit with the cape caught her.

‘Tohsaka…’

Then the man in the blue bodysuit was standing a few feet before him, spear positioned to thrust straight through his heart.

Shirou braced himself while instinctively moving his body to the side to turn the stab into a non-lethal one. But the blade never connected.

The spearman jumped to the left as a flaming arrow struck the ground where he stood with uncanny accuracy. Then the man was forced back further and further as more arrows followed him.

But then Shirou noticed the redhead woman racing straight for him. So, for the first time in his life, he actually took Tohsaka’s advice without complaint and turned around and ran.

*****

She saw him run and the enforcer following him. Archer was doing his best to keep Lancer at bay, but she could sense how the mana drain was straining him.

Rin felt as weak as a new-born foal. She could barely stay upright as her muscles turned numb. No choice then.

She focused on the point on her sternum and drew in as much mana as she dared to. She felt her chest burn as the alien mana entered it, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. Her magatama gems could handle the conversion.

Forcing the energy into the circuits throughout her body helped her regain her footing. The moment she did, she shot off in the direction Lancer took off in.

Archer followed keeping pace while still firing shots that just slowed down Lancer instead of getting him to change direction. She felt the drain on her circuits yet again as her Servant tentatively tugged at their bond while trying to maintain his own reserves to save her the strain.

But she didn’t care and forced the mana through their bond. She could draw on more than enough to spare for the two of them, even if her body burned.

*****

A sharp turn to the left had the woman overshooting her leap toward him. Shirou then raced down the road before turning sharply to the right, jumping over a wall into the garden of an empty house and racing out of the gate on the other end. He then turned right again, completing the loop meant to throw the woman off.

It seemed to succeed because the woman was no longer following him. He slowed to a stop in a side street between homes and watched as the woman raced ahead in search of him. He waited until she was well out of sight before releasing a breath.

Then his mind returned to what he witnessed in the school.

Why was Tohsaka fighting that mage? And who was that man accompanying her? What sort of trouble did she get herself into?

He knew that Tohsaka was a far superior mage and fighter than he ever will be, but he needed to help her. She was his friend and he would damn himself before he let her go at it alone.

He remembered the Azoth daggers he had created once Tohsaka had discovered his skill in projection and creation. He needed to get them if he wanted to help her.

Taking a deep breath, he imagined firing the hammer of a gun. His circuits opened in response. The mana flow through his circuits were stilted, but it was still better than before Tohsaka’s training. Nonetheless, he reinforced his body to its peak condition, one of two spells that he was better at than his friend.

With another deep breath, he was off racing toward his home and his workshop.

*****

They were losing sight of Lancer in spite of Archer’s efforts. Rin felt desperation take hold of her as she realised the direction the Servant was heading.

‘Archer, follow and stop him, now!’ she commanded her Servant.

Archer, who had been keeping pace dutifully at her sight, hesitated for a second before nodding curtly and speeding up. He was a blur of movement but he wasn’t as fast as Lancer.

Rin desperately prayed that she would make it in time.

Plum coloured eyes flashed to her mind. The brief vision was enough for her to regain her focus, force more mana through her circuits and tear down the road at around 80 kmph.

*****

He made it to his home in a few minutes. The house was as dark as always and he sent a silent prayer thanking all the deities above for Fuji-nee not being home.

He pushed open the front door and rushed through his living room and porch to reach the garden shed that was his workshop. He barely made it to the entrance before his instincts screamed at him. Gasping, he fell into a roll and came up on his feet at the entrance of the shed.

Thank goodness for Tohsaka whipping into shape! She was a firm believer of the philosophy, ‘A healthy body leads to a healthy mind’.

Shirou gaped as the blue-clad man was standing before him. The man seemed a little impressed.

‘You’ve got good instincts, boy’, he said before swinging his red spear onto his shoulder, ‘Too bad, you could have been the seventh.’

Shriou barely had time to think before he was leaping left to avoid a spear thrust and then running into the shed. He ran toward the organised table were the blunt but powerful daggers lay. They were the Mystic Codes of most magi, the Azoth Daggers.

He reached out and his hand curled around the hilt of one when he sensed another spear thrust. Reinforcing his body, he spun around and hit the spear with the dagger as hard as it could. The dagger shattered like glass against the spear but did succeed in deflecting it.

He reached out for another dagger as the spear changed direction and descended on him yet again.

Shirou saw the flaming arrow heading straight for the spearman’s head and saw the spearman move to dodge. But by then, it was too late.

The spear had pierced his chest just as the blue-clad man had jumped to the side to dodge the arrow.

*****

The sliding front door of the Emiya residence was wide open. The house was completely dark. Yet, she could hear the clash of weapons within.

Rin felt dread pool in her stomach and raced to the entrance. She almost missed the enforcer who entered the home before she did and suddenly saw red.

Her magic crest screeched under her skin.

She made it to the other side to see the enforcer and the Lancer in the backyard. She saw Archer standing at the entrance to Shirou’s workshop, bow nocked and aimed at the Lancer.

 _‘Schlagen Sie mit Wut: Weiße Stange’_ , she roared.

A bolt of pure white lightning struck at the ground where the enforcer had once stood. But Lancer had carried her out of the way, and further back away from the shed.

Rin raced to the shed, not caring about the glare the redhead sent her, not caring of the look of pity Lancer aimed at her, not caring about the solemn look Archer gave her.

She ran past her Servant and into the shed.

And stopped in her tracks.

Emiya Shirou was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, curled up and shivering.

_No._

He turned to look at her with glistening gold eyes.

_No._

He looked relieved.

_No._

And then he stopped breathing.

‘NO!’

*****

This world was beautiful.

Without the supernatural dangers of the Age of Gods, without the need for a divine cage to imprison it, without the fear forcing it to give birth to Divine Spirits, humanity had thrived. It had grown and spread around the world and beyond, creating a safe haven for its race, just as his friend in life had envisioned it. A civilisation of humanity, a culture that was not ruled by the whims of the Divine.

It was truly a magnificent sight and he felt blessed to have the chance to witness it.

He still remembered the days when his family had to struggle to live, among the spirits of the world, among other fellow humans. He had been pleasantly surprised to see that while the class-system was still prevalent in his homeland, it was no longer the only thing defining the people.

He was grateful for this second life, for this chance to fight to his heart’s desire. He was also grateful to have been gifted with such a kind-hearted Master, even though she refused to show it to the world, squirrelling away the compassion in her heart instead.

However, not for the first time, he wondered if benevolence and compassion was indeed a cruel curse.

His master was young still, just on the cusp of womanhood, not yet an adult, but no longer a child.

His stance turned firmer when he heard her mutter incoherently behind him as she pulled a green coma-shaped gem from her pocket. The mana burned as she forced it into him in spite of the severe strain on her own body. But his Master had a duty to fulfil, and he had his.

Lancer and his Master had varying degrees of pity on their faces.

But Archer ignored it as he prepared himself.

As he expected, Lancer struck first, coming head-on with a spear thrust. Archer shot his arrow at him, but instead of jumping back, Lancer jumped up and over, until he was flipping over the Archer. But before the Lancer could land, Archer struck with his bow. Vijaya was a divine construct created for the Destroyer God and was far stronger than any sword.

The force of the parry sent a shockwave rippling through the area around him. Lancer, who was caught mid-air was thrown back yet again.

Probing done, the battle resumed anew.

*****

The Fehu rune glowed brightly at Archer’s feet. A sudden blaze of wild fire followed. However, fire cannot harm the son of the Sun God and Archer merely aimed several arrows through the curtain of flames.

Rin ignored it and forced the mana in the magatama to heal Emiya’s heart.

Lancer, of course, danced around the rapid fire shots and tried attacking from the right. Archer parried it with ease and kicked out. Lancer blocked the blow and was sent skidding across the grass. But he barely slowed down before attacking again, this time by leaping into the air and descending from above, pressing the advantage he had at the moment.

Rin ignored it as she focused on rebuilding the muscle fibres in his heart.

The healing magatama triggered a reaction in Shirou’s body. His magic circuits came to life, activating another gift his father had left behind. There was a surge in mana.

Rin ignored it as she focused on jump-starting Shirou’s heart.

A wish was answered and a miracle materialised. A sudden gust of wind shot past Rin and Archer and hit Lancer with the force of an 18-wheeler driving at full speed.

This time Rin did not ignore it as she gazed past her Archer at the elegant figure in a blue dress and silver armor.

‘You’re here…’ Rin heard Shirou whisper weakly, but could not tear her eyes away from the newcomer.

‘Tell me’, the woman said as she turned slightly to look over her shoulder, emerald eyes glowing in the moonlight and focused on the figure of the weak boy, ‘Are you my Master?’

‘… Will you help…?’ he whispered again as his eyes closed.

The woman seemed to have gotten her answer and turned back to look at Lancer. ‘Servant Archer’, she greeted the man guarding the two teenagers, ‘Since your Master is tending to mine, I am assuming you are an ally.’

‘You are right, Servant Saber.’ Archer replied.

‘Very well, then’, Saber acknowledged, ‘Servant Lancer, I shall be your opponent.’

*****

He saw Lancer grin in joy at the appearance of another Servant and envied how open the man could be. ‘Oh, the final Servant. This must be my lucky day!’ Lancer announced.

The Master of Lancer tensed in caution.

Saber did not reply, merely lifted… an invisible sword?

Archer watched in fascination. It was rare when he was a spectator in the side-lines. He felt the boy’s condition stabilise behind him. He also felt when his Master’s focus shifted to the battle-ready Servants as she forced more mana into her body.

But everything else was silent. The moon shone down and the gathered watched with baited breath as the two warriors held their stances.

There was a soft breeze and…

They were a blur, two figures in blue meeting in a clash of metal and sparks. Lancer was quick-footed but Saber was agile, shifting ever so conservatively and parrying each offence thrust of a spear with a bludgeoning blow from her sword. The air rippled around them and the ground tore up.

And then an opening.

Lancer thrust forward with his spear.

But it had been a feint, a deliberate mis-step on Saber’s part to lead him to a trap.

Saber quickly stepped to her left and slashed upward with her sword. Spear deflected upward and safely out of her range, she began her offence. She pushed forward with blow after blow of her sword before Lancer could retaliate, forcing him to get defensive. The invisibility of her sword only added to the unpredictability of her attacks.

With a sudden burst of wind, Saber then pressed her attack, spinning in a pirouette and using the momentum to land a blow so forceful that Lancer was sent skidding back when he blocked it with his spear.

Here, Archer took his chance. He nocked the strongest flame-infused arrow he could produce and fired it at Lancer’s torso. Lancer dodged, of course, but the arrow exploded with a plume of dust and debris. Simultaneously, two concentrated black orbs of witchcraft were fired almost instantaneously from behind him. The first aimed at Lancer still in mid-air, the second at the enforcer. Lancer twisted around like an agile wild beast to dodge the shot. However, the enforcer hadn’t seen it coming in the rising dust.

The woman was hit with the full force of a curse that could weaken the constitution of both physical and spiritual beings. Lancer landed but promptly collapsed when his mana-flow was cut off. He turned to his Master who was pale and trembling.

Huffing in indignation, he turned to glare at the two Servants. However, neither moved.

They were at a stalemate. All three Masters were down and all three Servants at precarious positions.

Huffing again, Lancer just scooped up his Master. ‘Till later then’, he said and gathered every ounce of mana available. He then jumped over the roof and shot off into the city beyond.

Archer and Saber watched him go, neither willing to give chase.

Lancer was soon out of their range, but neither let down their guards.

They then turned to each other, tensed and ready. Saber opened her mouth to say something, and Archer waited, willing to listen.

And then Rin fell flat on her face, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, this chapter seems stilted…  
> Hmm…  
> Well review and let me know how it felt.  
> Oh, I'm also not sure if I'm messing up the German or not. I tried, but I'm just very poor at languages other than English and my native tongues.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world keeps moving on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer.  
> Our work load just got doubled. I’m practically dead on my feet.  
> Hurray…!

The night was darker and more silent than usual. The lights in the residential neighbourhood were all out. The stars could be easily seen tonight.

Somewhere in the distance, a dog howled. Closer still, in the woods, crickets chirped. An occasional frog let out a ribbit and an owl occasionally hooted.

It was colder too.

A sigh was heard, along with a grunt.

Puffs of condensed air blew through the air under the light of a lone street lamp.

‘Looks like no one is coming out to play today either’, the young angelic girl said to herself. ‘Pity, I wanted to see what Papa saw in her. Let’s go home, Berserker.’

With a final flick of her snow-white hair, the young girl turned around and primly walked away.

A black giant with a red eye followed in her wake.

*****

The sun was just rising over the horizon, painting the sky in stark shades of purple and orange, two colours that rarely got along. The cold was slowly receding as the warm rays of the rising sun gently penetrated through the frozen layers of air.

However, the sunlight cast shadows as well. And here, during the birth of the new day, the shadows stretched and loomed ominously.

Red eyes stared at the grand house in amusement and a tiny amount of fondness. He remembered it as the house of a cutthroat politician disguised as a scribe. Ah, he missed the luxury of this era, though it couldn’t hold a candle to his grand palace from so long ago.

‘Shall we proceed, my King’, he heard a smooth, baritone voice say beside him.

He turned to glance at his companion in amusement.

‘We may’, he replied playfully.

The false priest smirked as he pushed open the gate to the mansion on the hill. The bounded field around the property hardly reacted to him. It didn’t react to the presence of the Golden man either, seeing as his signature hadn’t been erased from the spell’s memory. The owner of the house had considered it unimportant. After all, what were the chances he survived the previous Grail War and the following ten years?

Gilgamesh couldn’t hold back an undignified snort.

The girl may be promising, but she was still rather naïve.

They made it past the gardens, but as they reached the front door, Kotomine stopped walking. Gilgamesh came to a stop a few feet ahead of him and turned to look questioningly at the priest.

The priest’s eyes, however, were occupied by the grove of trees to the west end of the property. Or rather, the little dirt mounds within the grove.

Gilgamesh blinked before grinning wildly.

‘Well, well’, he said in amusement, ‘Your girl is certainly full of surprises.’

Kotomine’s lips curved into a smirk. ‘Strong and resilient as she may be, she is still a poor Magus’, he declared.

‘And Magi are poor incarnations of humanity’, the Golden King retorted.

Without waiting for the priest to reach him, Gilgamesh rounded the house and headed for the back, where there were more ornamental gardens, though maintained poorly than in his memory. A few paces in, he came across an array etched into the soil and filled with crystals and silver. Three concentric circles with the Star of David and ancient Nordic runes silently stared back at him. There were crystals of varying quality placed where the circles intersected the Star, finer quality toward the middle and lesser at the end. And finally, the set up was capped off with the quartz lens that was six inches in diameter and held above the array with the help of an extendible metal arm attached to a pole.

The brilliant rays of the sun shone down on the lens, which then focused the light into a concentrated beam that hit the runes in the middle of the pattern.

Some of the crystals gleamed brilliantly with unnatural light, some were cracked and spilling liquid glitter and some were split open like walnuts by forces not perceived by normal humans.

Gilgamesh heard the footsteps behind him but did not bother acknowledged the man they belonged to.

‘What is it, Oh, King?’ Kotomine asked.

The King of Heroes huffed. ‘Smart child’, he reluctantly claimed, ‘She may have Tokiomi’s blood and she may be softer than her lineage had any right to be, but she is as smart and tenacious as you.’

Kotomine smirked and replied, ‘You always did claim that she was more my child than my late master’s.’

‘And I stand by it’, the Golden King replied, ‘She found a way around her weakness.’ He then looked up at the sky as shadows of trees prevented the sunlight from touching his face. ‘She found a way to crystalize sunlight to compensate for her limited mana supply.’ He explained and pointed at the array in front of them. ‘Since she used the stones as fuel for her ritual, she was guaranteed a Sun Spirit.’ His lips then curved into a blood thirsty grin. ‘Even so, the catalyst is generic and can summon any Sun Spirit. That she summoned perhaps the strongest and most destructive of them all is a testament to her conviction.’

At that he felt Kotomine practically beam in both pride for his girl and enthusiasm for the sure suffering she was walking into.

And Gilgamesh felt his heart speed up as well. Looks like the world just got more interesting.

*****

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and Shirou rolled over in his futon, grumbling about sleeping for a few more minutes. He pulled the blanket over his head and snuggled deeper.

Until he realised that it was morning…

And that Sakura would be on her way…

And so would Fuji-nee…’

He shot up in his futon with a start. ‘Shit! I’m late’, he tried stood up quickly, but then his knees buckled and he fell face first on the wooden floor. His body felt heavy, like it was made of lead. _What the hell happened to me?_

‘Careful, Master. You’re still recovering’, a feminine voice spoke out.

‘Huh’, Shirou replied intelligently. He raised his head until his chin rested on the wood planks below to give the rest of his head the support it needed.

There was an unfamiliar woman sitting in front of him. She was dressed in a puffy royal blue gown of some sort, with a silver breast plate, gauntlets and faulds. But the most striking features about her were the cornflower hair tied up in a braided bun and emerald eyes.

Shirou blinked once, twice, closed his eyes and opened them again.

The woman was still there.

So he did what any adolescent boy would you when there was a stranger in his bedroom.

‘AAAAIIEEEE!’

He screamed and scrambled backward, struggling to his feet. Of course, this only caused him to trip and fall backward. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for a hard fall.

Which never came…

‘Huh?’ He opened his eyes and was suddenly greeted with the handsome face of a man with brilliant sky blue eyes and spiky white hair.

Shirou blinked again and realised that he was lying on the man’s lap.

‘WAAAAAH!’ he screamed again and shot to his feet.

He tripped yet again, but this time fell on the hardwood floor flat on his face.

‘Ow…’

‘What the hell is going on?’

Tohsaka, whom he hadn't noticed was lying in a futon a few feet next to his, shot up with a glare. She looked at the strange man, then at the strange woman and then at Shirou.

‘Idiots!’ she declared and snuggled back into her futon, covered her head with her blanket and drifted off to sleep.

*****

‘So, you’re Servants, which happens to be a term used to refer to spirits of heroes past?’

‘Yes’, the woman, Saber, replied.

‘And you are anchored to this world by your Master, who is a Magus?’

‘That is correct’, the man, Archer, replied.

‘And there are seven pairs of you fighting against each other in a battle royale called, the Holy Grail War?’

‘Yes, that is right’, Archer said.

‘To obtain the Holy Grail so you can have your wish granted?’

‘That is exactly how it is.’

Shirou crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes and hummed. A minute later, he opened his eyes and state, ‘That has got to be the stupidest plan I have ever heard.’

Both Servants gaped at him with wide eyes and…

‘SSSSSHHHHIIIIIIIIRRRROOOOOOUUUUUUU!’

‘Oh, shit!’ Shirou shot to his feet and pulled the gaping Servants with him, ‘Fuji-nee just cannot see you. Quick this way!’

Catching both Servants by the wrist he dragged them out of the living room (they were benevolent enough to allow themselves to be dragged away). He quickly pulled them into his room and shut the door behind them. He then looked around wildly for a minute before reaching for his closet door. He then opened the door and pushed the two Servants inside.

It was cramped. Archer had to bend a little awkwardly and Saber struggled to spit out the fluffy cloak that was muffling her, but they would have to make do.

‘Stay here, be quiet and wait until I get back’, he stated sternly and shut the door.

‘Shirou!’ Fuji-nee greeted loudly as she tore open the door to his room.

The redhead nearly jumped out of his skin, his grip on the closet door turned white-knuckled. ‘F-Fuji-nee’, he stuttered.

Fuji-nee looked at him suspiciously. ‘What are you doing?’

The teenager panicked for a minute before suddenly flailing his arms about. ‘Uh… these are those new stretches I’m trying. They help warm up your body a lot faster.’

Fuji-nee squinted at him and opened her mouth to reply…

‘Good morning.’

‘KYAAAAA!’ Fuji-nee screamed.

‘GIIAAAAAH!’ Shirou screamed.

Tohsaka just blinked and stared blankly at them. Her hair was a curled mess and her eyes were drooping. With shoulders and back hunched, feet pointed at each other and the rumpled red button down shirt and black skirt she wore from yesterday, she looked like a zombie straight out of a B rated horror movie.

With one final blank gaze at them, she turned and shuffled slowly away in the direction of the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the Servants in the closet moved into more comfortable positions while waiting patiently for their masters to return (even though one of them could dematerialise).

****

The water was cold, but she still cupped it in her hands and splashed it on her face. She looked up at the mirror and noticed the droop in her eyes. It was to be expected, considering the strain she had put herself through yesterday.

She would need to skip another day of school and indulge in a shower later. Her limbs still felt heavy and there was a god-awful pounding in her head. Looks like she would need to a strong cup of coffee instead of regular tea today.

Outside the bathroom, she heard Fujimura-sensei’s high-pitched shrieks, Shirou’s low mumbles and Sakura’s gentle crooning. It sent a pang through her. Her breath hitched and her chest burned more ferociously than before.

Sighing, she opened the mirror cabinet and pulled out the burn cream from the first-aid kit placed there. She then unbuttoned the first three buttons of her red blouse shirt.

What greeted her were seven gems embedded into her sternum and collarbone. The gem attached to her sternum was triangular and predominantly red, though it sported a kaleidoscope of streaking, ever-changing colours. The other six were bright jade magatama embedded in her collarbone in a facsimile of a necklace. Their tails pointed to the centre and they glowed with a soft aqua light.

The skin around the gems was an angry, swollen red. Sighing, she began the ritual of applying the cream on the first degree burns.

*****

It took a while to convince both Fujimura-sensei and Sakura that yes, she was sick with the flu, no, she was not dying, and that she had almost recovered and visited to catch up with school work only to end up getting sick again. Which was why she had no patience left for another argument.

‘Look, just because Magi don’t like being exposed does not mean that they will come for you when you are alone, alright?’ Rin explained for the umpteenth time, ‘We have memory erasing spells. So, yes, you will need to take Saber to school with you.’

‘But Saber can’t dematerialise!’ Shirou yelped with a red face, ‘I can’t take her to school like that.’

Well, he had a point.

Rin pondered over the predicament for a bit.

‘Ok, then. Since we have a truce, you can borrow Archer to watch over you in school’, Rin explained, ‘Saber will stay with me and help me run a few errands.’

‘Shirou, you cannot trust…’ Saber began her protest.

‘Rin, I should…’ Archer began his protest.

‘Fine by me’, Shirou shrugged.

The Servants frowned a little (being too noble to actually look disgruntled).

‘Take care of yourself, Tohsaka’, Shirou then instructed her, ‘And don’t push yourself. You need the rest.’

‘Shut up, Idiot!’ Rin snapped back, ‘You’re one to talk!’

Half an hour later, Rin watched as Shirou left for school with her invisible Archer and began to prepare for the day.

First thing first.

She picked up the phone and dialled the familiar dreaded number.

The phone was picked on the second ring.

‘Rin’, the voice on the other hand began, ‘Good morning…’

‘The final Servant was summoned last night’, Rin cut Kirei off, ‘Shirou is the seventh Master.’

‘I see’, Kirei said after a short pause, ‘You will still need to come down to the church to register…’

Rin hung up.

An hour later, Saber, dressed in a blue skirt, white blouse and black stockings, silently followed Rin back to her mansion. They had a lot of work to do.

*****

_The puppy, a mixed breed mongrel, had broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was barely six months old and was already a victim of a hit-and-run._

_He had been howling in pain for close to an hour until his lungs gave up. Now he was whimpering pitifully._

_Rin focused on repairing the bone as she held the magatama in her hand. She couldn’t do anything for his lung until the ribs were out of the way._

_But, in the end, she was too slow. The puppy drew its last breath peacefully in her lap, comforted by the warmth of the twelve-year-old._

_Rin’s arms went limp and the glowing jade piece fell from her hand._

_Behind her Kirei smirked knowingly. ‘Life is precious’, he said, ‘You cannot afford to hesitate or second-guess when saving or taking one.’_

_Rin did not say anything and Kirei seemed almost disappointed at her lack of retorts. However, when she hid her face behind her thick mane of hair he felt the satisfaction of seeing her agony. It wasn’t quite on par with the tragedies of Shakespeare, but nevertheless, it was beautiful._

_Rin refused to speak to him the whole day and returned home quietly._

_She then went to work wrapping the body of the pup in a white shroud and then burying him in the grove on her property. This was the seventh grave she had dug._

_It was only after the soil was covered and a big round and smooth pebble was placed as the headstone that tears streamed down her face._

_‘I’m sorry’, she sobbed quietly, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry…’_

_The chant continued well into the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An exposition heavy chapter that hopefully answers a lot of your questions.  
> Please review!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin never gets a break!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update. Was a bit under the weather.  
> God, I feel dead already…  
> Oh, well…

_Why was she here?_

_Sakura looked at the girl with aqua eyes and long black hair._

_‘Ah, Sakura-san. Who is it?’ Emiya-sempai asked as he rounded the corner. His arm was in a sling._

_Nee- Tohsaka-sempai’s eyes narrowed causing Emiya-sempai to jump back and wave his hand about frantically while he stuttered about how it was a genuine accident and how he wasn’t being reckless and how…_

_But Tohsaka-sempai wasn’t paying attention. ‘Idiot’, she grumbled._

_That seemed to bring Emiya-sempai up short. ‘What?’ he squawked, ‘That’s not fair! It was…’_

_Tohsaka-sempai ignored him and turned to face her. Sakura felt her heart grow cold and a shiver run down her spine._

_‘Thank you for taking care of him, Matou-san’, Tohsaka-sempai said gently with a smile, ‘I’m glad he had someone sensible by his side all this time.’_

_‘Tohsaka-sempai…’ It wasn’t fair. They weren’t supposed to speak to each other. They were rivals now. Sakura wasn’t meant to want her Nee-_

_She was horrified to feel tears rise in her eyes. She tried to tell herself that Tohsaka-sempai didn’t really care, she just was being polite…_

_‘Hey!’ Emiya-sempai yelled indignantly._

_‘Shut up!’ Tohsaka-sempai retaliated, ‘I’m gone for two days and you break your arm. How am I supposed to believe that you are capable of taking care of yourself?’_

_‘But…’_

_‘You think I don’t know that you broke your hand by getting into a fight with Matou Shinji of all people?’_

_‘But…’_

_‘I know you have a hero-complex, but next time you want to save a damsel in distress, at least learn how to fight properly!’_

_‘But…’_

_‘Matou-san’, Tohsaka-sempai turned to face her again and Sakura froze, ‘The next time a guy troubles you, even if it’s your brother, and you can’t fight back, come and tell me.’ She turned a glare at the redhead, ‘Because this guy can’t get anything done without breaking himself.’_

_‘Sempai…’_

_‘Or at least tell Mitsuzuri-san. She’s far more a knight than I am. And certainly more than Emiya-kun over there.’_

_‘But, Sempai…’_

_‘Enough depressing talk’, Tohsaka-sempai announced with a flair and held up the plastic bag she had brought with her, ‘Today is your lucky day, Matou-san. I got us all Takoyaki!’_

_‘Oh, I don’t want to intrude’, Sakura suddenly said, feeling panic rise in her, ‘I can leave…’_

_‘Nonsense’, sempai continued cheerfully, ‘You are Emiya-kun’s friend, while I was just an acquaintance of his late guardian. You have more of a right to be here than me.’_

_Behind her Emiya-sempai grumbled and for the first time in a long time she felt something warm bubble in her chest._

*****

Sakura sighed as she saw the school loom over the horizon. Time was moving too fast now. Before she knew it, she would finish school and return home to…

No, today was going to be a good day.

But Nee- Tohsaka-sempai looked dead on her feet.

Was it because of…?

‘Hey, Sakura’, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

Sakura felt her heart lighten immediately and she spun around with a smile.

‘Emiya-sempai, you made it here so fast’, she stated more than asked.

‘Yeah, you know how Tohsaka is about punctuality and order’, sempai replied, ‘Let’s go, OK?’

‘I hope Tohsaka-sempai gets better soon…’ Sakura mumbled hopefully.

‘Yeah…’

They walked to the school gates in silence for a while. But when they entered, sempai stopped her. ‘Hey, Sakura’, he started with a light frown.

She felt dread settle in her stomach.

‘Tohsaka probably did not notice because of how out of it she was, but…’ He sighed and looked down at her left hand, ‘Sakura, those bruises… Did Shinji…?’

Sakura flailed in her panic. ‘No’, she blurted out far too quickly to be convincing. She took a deep breath and spoke again, ‘No, sempai. Nii-san had nothing to do with these’, she covered the back of her hand where the bruises could be seen, ‘I just wasn’t careful…’

Sempai stared at her for what seemed to be a long time. Even though Sakura was glad that it wasn’t the far sharper Tohsaka-sempai, Emiya-sempai still managed to pick up some of her observational and interrogation skills.

‘If you say so…’ he finally replied.

And she nearly let out a sigh of relief.

*****

‘She wasn’t lying.’

Shirou nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to look at the man who had literally materialised out of thin air. He had been alone in the council room again, fixing the air conditioning unit.

‘Archer, don’t scare me like that!’ he whisper-yelled at the man.

Archer looked at him blankly for a moment. He looked really, really odd with his tight black body suit, golden arm and fluffy red cape. ‘My apologies’, the man said, ‘I am not your Servant, so I don’t share the telepathic bond with you. I will need to communicate with you to follow the task set out by my master, but I cannot do that without manifesting physically.’

Shirou blinked. He considered telling the man to warn him before materialising, but considering their situation he was sure even that would scare the daylights out of him.

The incomplete summoning of Saber did not allow Shirou to properly bond with her, according to Tohsaka anyway. The only thing he could feel from her was her spirit siphoning his mana and the occasional stray thought.

Then he remembered what Archer told him.

‘Who wasn’t lying?’

‘The girl, Sakura’, Archer replied, ‘She may have been a victim of mistreatment, but those marks were her doing.’

‘You can tell that!’ Shirou exclaimed in wonder.

‘Discernment of the Poor’, Archer replied, ‘It’s a skill I possess, the ability to see through deception.’

‘Oh’, Shirou replied as he got back to work fixing the AC unit, ‘That is very useful.’

He began to unscrew the outer panel to check the damaged ductwork more closely when Archer spoke again.

‘Shirou, what is the relationship between Sakura and my master?’

Shirou paused, screwdriver an inch from the screw. ‘I’m really not sure. I like to think they are friends, but sometimes it feels like they are much more.’ He thought of the times he saw Tohsaka practically fly in to rescue Sakura every time Shinji treated her badly. He thought of Sakura’s shy, hopeful smiles reserved for the older girl. He thought of all the time Tohsaka spent in the archery club, watching only the plum-haired girl and no one else. He felt a bitter burn in his throat every time she did so and shame immediately after.

After all, Sakura deserved someone coming to her rescue all the time. Even if it was…

He halted that train of thought and dared not proceed further.

Archer didn’t reply, merely shot him a thoughtful look before dematerialising.

That was all the warning Shirou had before the door opened and Issei entered the room.

*****

The city was as busy as she remembered, but it seemed to have grown, healed, after…

She looked at the young Magus walking a step ahead of her. Her gait and gaze radiated sheer determination. This was a young woman on a mission.

Rin didn’t seem like a threat to her Master. It seemed she shared a special bond with Shirou. And it was surprising to Saber. All the mages the King had ever known were ruthless and cunning, willing to sacrifice their own blood and the dignity of their souls for their goals.

However, she remembered how Rin yelled at and scolded Shirou, how she planned his and the other girl’s, Sakura’s, safety first.

This young woman was no ordinary Magus and Saber was very grateful for that.

(But then again, Emiya Kiritsugu hadn’t been an ordinary magus…)

They walked slowly along the road that led back to the Japanese side of Miyama town, having collected the jewels and clothes Rin needed from the Tohsaka estate. They didn’t speak, content in their silence. Until they reached a road that led uphill.

It was only when they reached the crest of the hill that Saber came to a stop, blood freezing at the sight before her. Beside her Rin came to a halt as well with confusion streaked across her face.

‘Saber…’ she began.

‘Rin.’

But it wasn’t Saber who spoke.

Up ahead of them was a young girl dressed in a purple trench coat and fur hat. What was striking about her was her angelic appearance, delicate pale skin, snow white hair and brilliant red eyes.

‘I’ve been waiting for you, Rin.’

*****

‘Shirou’, Archer stated as he materialised before him, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

‘Archer!’ Shirou gasped. They were damn lucky no one was present.

‘I need to go’, Archer stated.

‘I know’, Shirou replied, having heard Saber’s message over their bond, ‘Go now.’

‘I can’t leave you here, I’ll have to take your with me. Brace yourself.’

Shirou had about a fraction of a second to comprehend what that would entail before he was being scooped up into a bridal carry. He didn’t even have time to protest as Archer leapt out of the window of the Student Council room. He managed to reinforce his body instinctively. And as Archer continued his leaps into speeds approaching Mach 2, Shirou was only able to hold onto the man for dear life while trying not to scream his head off.

Shirou may have failed in that endeavour, but as the Servant of the bow was travelling faster than the speed of sound, his screams of terror hardly made an impact.

*****

Saber darted out of the way of another blow before circling around to strike from the back. However, Berserker spun around with a speed that was unnatural even for a Servant and brought down his axe-blade on the spot where Saber would have landed had she not darted out of the way. With the nimbleness of a cat, Saber twisted back again and brought her sword up in rising slash that was yet again blocked by the axe-sword. The petite woman darted away again as the massive stone blade slipped off her invisible sword and cracked the pavement beneath.

Rin supposed they were unlucky to have been caught unawares in the part of the town full of homes of the working class that was empty during the day.

‘Look at me, Rin’, the young Einzbern said, ‘I’m the one standing before you.’

‘Illyasviel…’ Rin muttered the name of the Einzbern candidate as her mind raced through the spells she could use in broad daylight.

‘I see, you know me’, the homunculus smiled sweetly, ‘Though I always wondered what _he_ saw in you.’

Rin had no time to think about the emphasis the young homunculus placed on the word ‘he’ before she was forced to duck out of the way of a bird shaped familiar. It looked like a steel motif but was made from the Einzbern’s woven white hair.

 _Obviously a high-tier familiar_ , Rin thought.

Illyasviel then proceeded to pluck another strand of hair from her head and forced it to morph into another bird familiar.

Behind her Saber was sent flying as Berserkers axe-blade connected with her invisible sword with enough force to break a skyscraper in half. The shockwave rippled through the area, nearly knocking Rin off her feet, but the homunculus stood tall.

Rin knew it was a risk, but she activated her magic crest. She then aimed her arm at one of the birds only to have them dart out of her range. But that was to be expected and she brought her right arm up to throw a sapphire at the homunculus.

The sapphire shattered and let loose what could only be described as a concentrated lightning storm, with enough electricity to scorch and burn the area of impact, leaving glass and ash in its wake. Rin nearly smirked but the smirk fell when the dust cleared.

Because before her was a shield made from the same materials that made up the familiars.

‘Familiars that can change shape?’ Rin blurted out in shock and awe.

‘Oh, that was amazing, Rin!’ the young white-haired girl praised with a cruel smile, ‘Time to get serious.’ She then pulled on a string.

Rin watched in mute shock as a barrier made of strings wove itself in a dome that was around a 20 meters in diameter, trapping her inside with the Einzbern. She turned to look back at the petite girl and saw a hatred blaze in her red eyes that she had never noticed before.

*****

Saber grit her teeth and fought the urge to curse under her breath. Rin was no longer under her protection and it rankled her pride. Rin may not have been her master, but she was an ally she couldn’t afford to lose.

And yet…

She ducked to her right and rolled before coming back up on her feet as Berserker clubbed the area where she had stood leaving a massive crater in his wake. She was running out of mana and that beast was less of a mad warrior and more of a personification of human savagery. Mad and beyond comprehensible, he still retained his awesome skills. There was no doubt the man had been a hero of great renown in life.

She was forced on the defensive as Berserker used not just his massive blade, but also his entire body to try and land a hit on her. It took everything she had to keep out of his range and even then she was burning through whatever reserves she had faster than Shirou could supply her. Eye of the Mind (True) was the only reason she was able to evade so easily. She needed to come up with a plan fast—

Suddenly, Berserker let go his sword and aimed a punch at her. Caught off guard, she brought her sword up to block but was taken by surprise when he grabbed her invisible weapon instead.

She watched in horror as the mad warrior brought up his axe-blade with his left arm and swung it down toward her head.

But just before the blow could connect, a projectile made of pure fire exploded in the giant’s face. The force of the explosion was enough to throw them both apart, forcing Berserker to let go of her invisible sword.

Saber managed to find her feet beneath her and scanned the dust cloud before turning to the source of the projectile.

Archer stood atop a house a hundred meters away with bow raised and an arrow aimed and nocked. She noticed Shirou dart around in the garden below.

She didn’t even have time to call out to her master when a black blur shot past her and toward her allied Servant.

Cursing under her breath, Saber poured mana into her legs and shot off in the same direction.

She arrived a fraction of a second later to see Berserker bulldoze through all of Archer’s shots and take a massive swing at him. Archer brought up his golden bow to block, but the force of the impact still sent him flying off the roof and into another building.

Saber took the chance to strike him from behind. However, Berserker spun and brought his leg up in a vicious roundhouse kick that caught her in the abdomen. Her breath left her violently as she was flung back into a building.

All she saw was Archer get back on his feet and gather mana to aim an arrow far different from any he had ever conjured before the building collapsed on top of her.

*****

Rin dodged and hopped on a foot as a bird shot past her and then rolled to the side as another dive bombed toward her. The familiar exploded as it hit the ground, forcing her to shield herself.

The familiars took the chance to charge at her when she was vulnerable, but Rin was ready. She threw one of the quartz crystals she had prepared and it shattered to let out a small whirlwind that blew the birds back. She quickly took the chance to shoot off a few rapid-fire overpowered Gandr shots, destroying four of the birds.

She then rolled out of the way as another bird swooped down and landed in a crouch. There were five birds left.

‘My, my, what nimble prey you are!’ Illyasviel von Einzbern sang with a twisted smile.

Rin grit her teeth as she activated the part of her crest she hoped she never had to use…

And then paused as she heard sirens in the distance.

Illyasviel froze in her tracks as well. ‘Oh, poop!’ she exclaimed childishly, ‘I was just starting to have fun too.’

Rin tensed as the homunculus turned back to her.

‘Well, until next time then, Rin’, she stated primly as the dome shattered.

Berserker was there nearly a second later and scooped up the petite girl. With one final growl at his opponents, he leapt away without looking back.

Rin stood bewildered for a moment before turning back to look at her Servant who landed behind her. The expression on his face almost looked disappointed. She nearly wobbled as she got on her feet and Archer was there to hold her around her shoulders.

*****

Shirou nearly sighed as he heard the sirens in the distance and pocketed his phone. The giant, Berserker as Archer had called him, paused for a second before disappearing from sight. Archer held his stance for a second longer before lowering his bow and dematerialising his arrow.

Way ahead, Saber burst out of the rubble she was under.

Archer then reached Tohsaka in time to give her the support she needed. He made to reach for her too but stopped when he saw her glare.

‘What did you do?’ she growled.

‘I’m sorry!’ he blurted out on reflex, ‘You said Magi don’t fight when there are witnesses so I called the cops. She didn’t call my bluff so it worked!’

Tohsaka glared at him for a second longer before letting out a resigned sigh. ‘Let’s just leave, Archer’, she stated.

Shirou sighed in relief as Archer scooped up Tohsaka in a bridal carry instead of him. Of course, he soon regretted that when Saber ended up throwing him over her shoulder before leaping off in the direction of his home at speeds approaching Mach 2.

The only saving grace was Shirou did not scream this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura has issues…  
> Illya has issues…  
> I have issues…  
> I’m dealing with a lot of crap while under the weather. I’m really sorry for posting this chapter so late.  
> And thank you Snowstream for offering to be my beta and help me with the German!  
> Anyway, constructive criticism accepted! So please leave a review!


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